(January 14, 2015) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro has come from behind in his second-round match at the Apia International, to usurp top seed Italian Fabio Fognini 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday. The Argentine world No. 338 – who last year was ranked No. 5 in the world when he beat Bernard Tomic in the Sydney final – hadn’t played a match since Dubai in February 2014 before he faced his first-round opponent on Tuesday.

“I feel better on the court,” said Del Potro, “Especially in the end of the match. I serve well, I hit good forehands, and my backhands improved from yesterday to this match a little bit.”

On Wednesday, Del Potro faced an initial onslaught from world No. 18 Fognini who broke Del Potro twice in the first set, taking it 6-4. Del Potro found his range toward the end of the second set, again relying on his main weapons, his serve and forehand, to maintain pressure on Fognini’s game, breaking Fognini four more times to win the second and third sets 6-2, 6-2.

As far as adding his aggressive backhand back into his arsenal, Del Potro isn’t rushing anything, saying, “My game is serve strong and hit and try to make winners with my forehand. If my backhand is OK, I will be aggressive too with my backhand in the future. But now I think I have to put it on court, just to hit the ball as better I can, and don’t try to make winners with my backhand at this moment. I just need to play a lot of backhands during the point, and if I do that, I will get confidence very soon to play aggressive as well.”

A dip in form by the mercurial Fognini in the latter half of the match contributed to Del Potro’s from-behind win, but Del Potro’s serve and service percentage got better as the match wore on. In the second set, he only dropped one point behind his first serve, and in the final set his first serve percentage was 78%, winning 12 of 15 points behind it.

Del Potro will face Mikhail Kukushkin in the quarter-finals on Thursday, and indicated he would be physically ready. “My wrist is the same,” said Del Potro, “It’s not getting worse, so I have confidence with that. Of course I’m very happy to beat my first top 20 player on the year.”

Dave Gertler is a tennis journalist, player and musician based in Sydney and is covering the Australian summer of tennis for Tennis Panorama News. Follow his personal Twitter @davegertler, read his blog, and listen to his podcast, Tennis Days .

(January 13, 2015) For Juan Martin Del Potro, this was the successful return to competition after almost a year that everyone – except, perhaps, his first-round opponent at the Apia International, Sergiy Stakhovsky – was hoping for.

The shot most affected by his injury is Del Potro’s double-handed backhand, but the Argentinian 26-year-old possesses other weapons, namely one of the most powerful serves and deadly forehands on tour. Those were both on full display on Tuesday afternoon, when he denied Stakhovsky any break points on the way to a straight-sets 6-3, 7-6 victory that took 81 minutes.

“It was a great moment for me,” said an emotional Del Potro after the match, “I think I play well to be in my first match after ten months. I serve well. My forehand is still working out. So that’s mean good signal for the future. I need to work very hard to my backhands and my movements, but I think now is time to think about my comeback and enjoying this moment a lot. I been at home for a long time really sad. To be honest, I didn’t expect this moment to be early in the season. I’m so happy, so glad.”

After the match Del Potro, who raised the Apia International winner’s trophy in 2014, raised both arms in a warmly-received celebration before collapsing to his chair and putting his towel over his head, apparently overwhelmed by the emotion.

“I enjoy the match, enjoying the atmosphere on there,” said Del Potro, “They are still Argentinian fans coming to watch me, which is very good for me. Obviously be the defending champion here means a lot. But I don’t have to think about that. Just try to be calm and go step by step, trying to go slowly. I know many people expect me playing like a top 10 very soon, but I will say to them that it takes a bit of time.”

Del Potro indicated his wrist felt better than he had expected, saying, “I will be ready to play tomorrow for sure. I will do treatment after here that take me like an hour every day. It’s supposed to be worse after intensive match like today, but I’m feeling well at the moment. I will see tonight and maybe tomorrow morning, but my doctor is behind me. He give me big confidence every day, so I’m still positive and I still want to play tennis.”

Hi opponent on Wednesday, top seed Fabio Fognini, has also struggled with his health recently in Perth, where he was sidelined from the Hopman Cup for at least one rubber with a heat-related illness. “Fabio is a great player,” said Del Potro, “He’s the No.1 seed. He is a friend of mine as well. So just try to play as I did today will be great for me. Obviously focus is on my wrist, trying to don’t get worse after tonight and after the match of tomorrow. If everything happens in the good way, I will be happy for this week.”

Clearly focussed on the long road back to full health, Del Potro assures, “I will be an aggressive player again very soon, but now it’s time to work on my physically and the treatment and the recoveries every day.”

Reflecting on his time away from the game, he said, “It’s been horrible for me. I spend a lot of time at home. I was watching tennis on TV. I think for all the players watching the big tournaments on TV is really, really bad. Supposed to be there playing with these guys, looking on trying to win a grand slam again. But I also have a big support of my family, of my friends. Because of them, I’m here now. They want me to still watching playing tennis. And I feel young, so I will try to play tennis as long as I can. Could be another start of my career after this match.”

Dave Gertler is a tennis journalist, player and musician based in Sydney and is covering the Australian summer of tennis for Tennis Panorama News. Follow his personal Twitter @davegertler, read his blog, and listen to his podcast, Tennis Days .

(January 13, 2015) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Madison Keys has withdrawn from the Apia International in Sydney, surrendering from a set up against defending champion Tsvetana Pironkova. The mid-match withdrawal came on a day when the women’s draw lost its top seed Simona Halep, who withdrew before playing her first match, suffering from a gastrointestinal illness.

“I just hit a serve weird and it just kind of impinged on my shoulder a little bit,” said Keys, who had taken the first set 6-4 on Court 3, yet was trailing in the second set 1-4 before she pulled out, “Just didn’t want to push it too hard and end up getting worse.” Keys also stressed that she would be fit for the Australian Open, starting next week, saying that she immediately called her coach Lindsay Davenport to reassure her and say, “Don’t freak out. It’s fine. She understands. She played. She gets it. Said, good call. Let’s get it better, and we’ll do whatever we can to get ready.”

For Pironkova, the dream run in Sydney continues, stretching out her unbeaten record over the last two years to 13 matches, and she will face in-form Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The two most recently met on grass at Wimbledon in 2013, Pironkova winning on her way to the round of 16 that year.

Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki’s withdrawing during her first-round match on Monday, and Agnieszka Radwanska, third seed, who lost a tight battle against Garbine Muguruza on Tuesday, means the only seed to make it through to the quarter-finals by Tuesday evening was Petra Kvitova, No.2 seed, who beat Shuai Peng in straight sets.

Radwanska, playing her first tournament with coach Martina Navratilova courtside, found herself leading Muguruza before the Spaniard switched gears, taking the next two sets 7-6, 6-2. “I played her two times before and I lost,” said Muguruza after her win, “I was like, OK, this time I want to win. I want to see what happens. For me to win this match, I feel like I improve a lot. When I play against her, I really have to concentrate and do my game, because she makes me play different styles and dropshots and long balls.”

“I think the best chance for me was winning in two sets,” said Radwanska, “In the tie-break, I think I just didn’t really go for it. She made a couple of good shots and it was over. But, well, it’s always a good sign. I have a couple days still before the Australian Open, so going to rest and prepare for that.”

Also through to the women’s quarter-finals on Tuesday’s matches were Karolina Pliskova who beat Nicole Gibbs – in for Simona Halep – 6-0, 6-0 in 38 minutes. Pliskova will play Carla Suarez Navarro who beat Ekaterina Makarova in a three-set match lasting over two hours. Garbine Muguruza will play either Angelique Kerber in her first quarter-final in Sydney, while Petra Kvitova will play Jarmila Gajdosova in what will be her third quarter-final in five appearances in Sydney.

Dave Gertler is a tennis journalist, player and musician based in Sydney and is covering the Australian summer of tennis for Tennis Panorama News. Follow his personal Twitter @davegertler, read his blog, and listen to his podcast, Tennis Days .

(January 12, 2015) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Tsvetana Pironkova‘s endearing and heroic run of 12 straight wins at the Apia International in Sydney might finally be cut short on Tuesday by the big game of the USA’s Madison Keys. The Bulgarian defending champion yesterday won an unlikely battle against Indian Wells champion Flavia Pennetta to advance to the second round of the main draw. Then again, her win over Pennetta is merely one of four top-12 wins the now-ranked No. 67 Pironkova has enjoyed in Sydney the last two years.

“I think I played a great match today,” said Pironkova of her 6-3, 7-6 win over the Italian, “I felt very good on court. I think we both did. It was a very entertaining match for the spectators. Definitely hard. I’m glad I could finish it only in two sets.” Pennetta was starting to find her range in the second set, battling from a break down to force the tie-break, at which point Pironkova’s air of Sydney invincibility took over again.

“Well, I obviously love it,” said Pironkova, 27, whose first and only career WTA title is last year’s Apia International. “I have very nice memories from last year. I like the surface very much. I like the people around here. I like the city, which I think it’s important for every player to enjoy the whole experience. So I am, and I feel very, very good here.”

Due to her 2014 Apia International championship points being stripped at the beginning of this week, Pironkova ranking has dropped a staggering 30 spots to No.67, yet she has still managed to spin into a positive the fact that as defending champ she was declined a wildcard into the main draw this year. Pironkova said, “That was past. You know, once I came to the tournament, I had a different mindset. I was like, OK, you’re playing quallies. Just go out on the court and forget about what’s happening. Obviously you’re not getting a wildcard. Get over it and try your best. And that’s what I’m doing.”

While tactics, craftiness and overall tennis smarts are how Pironkova separates herself from most opponents, she will have to find a new level to beat her next opponent Madison Keys. Keys was demonstrative in her first-round win over Svetlana Kuznetsova on the main court, Ken Rosewall Arena on Sunday and will be well-rested after a day off to face an opponent who has played four matches in as many days here in Sydney.

Finding out for the first time in the media conference who her next opponent was, Pironkova said, “I didn’t know I play against her. Very strong opponent. I think she’s very good right now, in good form, and one of the players to look out for. So, you know, I’m just going to go out there and do my best, and hopefully I’m going to win.”

The two wildcards in the women’s draw were given to Australian local hopes Jarmila Gajdosova and Daria Gavrilova, who both – like Pironkova – scored upset wins in their first-round matches. Journey-woman Gajdosova’s win over world No.12 Andrea Petkovic was her highest-ranked win since 2011. In an all-Slovak battle today of sorts – Gajdosova was born and spent her formative years in Slovakia – she will take on world No.11 Dominika Cibulkova on Grandstand Court, one of many standout matches scheduled for today at Olympic Park Tennis Centre. Gavrilova’s win over Swiss Belinda Bencic was also standout, her first win over a top 20 player since 2012.

The Apia International’s Tuesday order of play is full of drawcards, and reads almost like a grand slam middle Saturday, perhaps minus the top-10 men’s players. Headlining action on Ken Rosewall Arena will be Juan Martin Del Potro. In his first match back from injury since February 2014, the Argentine US Open champ will face Sergiy Stakhovsky to begin his campaign to defend his 2014 Apia International title.

Sam Stosur, who finally managed to turn the tables against Lucie Safarova on Monday, will face her second Czech opponent in two days. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova made it into the second round when her opponent Caroline Wozniacki withdrew from their match citing wrist problems.

Also in action on KRA on Tuesday – Bernard Tomic, Sam Stosur, and Petra Kvitova, Nick Kyrgios and Jerzy Janowicz, while Simona Halep, Agnieszka Radwanska, Vasek Pospisil and Sam Groth take on their opponents on Grandstand and the outer courts.

Dave Gertler is a tennis journalist, player and musician based in Sydney and is covering the Australian summer of tennis for Tennis Panorama News. Follow his personal Twitter @davegertler, read his blog, and listen to his podcast, Tennis Days .

(January 11, 2015) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – After rain prevented play for most of Sunday at the Apia International, Monday’s schedule will feature even more high-profile WTA matchups than previously planned. First up on Ken Rosewall Arena, home favorite Sam Stosur will take on Czech world No. 15 Lucie Safarova. Stosur will need all the home-crowd support she can muster, having not beaten Safarova in their last six meetings.

No. 2 seed Czech Petra Kvitova on Sunday weighed in on Safarova’s chances of having a standout 2015, saying, “I hope that she can make the top 10. She dreamed for it, and hopefully she can make it. I think that she really had a great off-season as well. We practiced in Prostejov at the end of last year. She came for a week, and we had a practice, and she played really well, she’s in good form.”

While the winner between Safarova and Stosur will most likely face No. 4 seed Caroline Wozniacki in the second round, Kvitova along with Safarova and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova – Wozniacki’s first-round opponent – are the three Czechs contending the bottom half of the draw. In the top half, up-and-coming Czech Karolina Pliskova will face a qualifier to decide who plays top seed Simona Halep in the second round.

Last week in Brisbane, Pliskova surprised her opponent, and the Brisbane crowd, by overpowering Victoria Azarenka in three sets on Pat Rafter Arena, and if she can navigate her way past qualifier Polona Hercog, will most likely find herself on centre court again facing top seed Halep.

“She went with us to be part of the team in the Fed Cup, last week of the last season,” said Kvitova of 22-year-old Pliskova, “She was great, she really handled it very nicely, and the practice with her was great, so it was very nice to have her in the team. And hopefully, with these experiences she can have now, she can play better and better. She’s playing well, I have to say, she’s serving so well. So hopefully it’s going to be a very good future for her.”

The most interesting matchup on Ken Rosewall Arena will be another feature match between third seed Radwanska and world No. 18 Alize Cornet. While Radwanska has enjoyed three main-tour wins to only one loss to the French player, the French player got the better of the Pole only three days ago at the Hopman Cup in Perth. Radwanska will be hoping to follow up on her Apia International title which she failed to defend in 2014.

Women’s defending champion, Tsvetana Pironkova, has won through qualifying to the main draw, and will face Italy’s Flavia Pennetta on Monday on Court 3.

Dave Gertler is a tennis journalist, player and musician based in Sydney and is covering the Australian summer of tennis for Tennis Panorama News. Follow his personal Twitter @davegertler, read his blog, and listen to his podcast, Tennis Days .

(January 11, 2015) Stan Wawrinka claimed his third Chennai Open title and 8th career tournament win on Sunday, notching a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Slovenian qualifier Aljaz Bedene. It’s the Swiss’ second straight Chennai crown.

“It’s amazing to win again, to start the year with a trophy,” Wawrinka said. “I’m very happy with my level. It was a great final. He (Bedene) has been through the qualifier, beating a lot of seeds and it’s been good for him too.”

The No. 156 Bedene, who had a career week, became the first qualifier to reach the Chennai final.

“Stan played amazing today,” Bedene said. “It’s been a great week. I guess hard work has paid off for me. This is now my favorite tournament for three years and I’ll be back here next year.”

“I don’t want to stop here. I just want to raise my level to the level of Stan’s game.”

“I’m looking forward to the Australian Open,” said Wawrinka the defending champion. “It’s going to be a strange feeling to come back as the defending champion in a Grand Slam. But right now, I want to enjoy this trophy. It’s not every week you win a trophy and it’s really tough to win on the ATP Tour.”

“I feel really happy. It’s tough to win tournaments on the ATP [World] Tour. I feel good, with more confidence [and] feeling well with my game. I’m happy with my game in general, but it’s just the beginning of the season and I hope I can play well all [of] the season.”

The Australian Open, the first tennis major of the year begins on January 19.

The 33-year-old Federer is the third player in the Open Era to earn this achievement, joining Jimmy Connors with 1253 wins and Ivan Lendl with 1071 victories.
“It feels very different to any other match I’ve ever won. 1000 means a lot because it’s such a huge number,” Federer said. “Just alone to count to 1000 is going to take a while. It’s funny emotions right now, but clearly very proud and happy.

“Looking back it’s almost nicer winning this way, through a tight match with nerves and humid conditions against a great player in a final. It means so much more than just running away with it with the score maybe 6-4, 6-4, which was looking very likely at one stage. I guess I was much more happy having to go three sets in the end rather than winning in straight.”

“It was a great tennis match,” said Raonic, who was seeking his 7the ATP World Tour title. “I stayed out there, competed, gave it my all. I gave myself a chance after being down a set and a break. I think it just shows the development I’ve been able to make over the last little while. You put me in that same situation few months and weeks ago and I think I could be out of that stadium pretty quickly.

“Give and take few situations, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to go into the Australian Open. The progress I’ve been making, especially over the last six weeks from physically as a tennis player, technically, and just the way I go about things even mentally, I’m happy with that. I feel like I’m just going to get better over the next eight or nine days.”

Rod Laver and Roger Federer photo courtesy of Tennis TV

Tennis Hall of Famers by Rod Laver and Roy Emerson joined Federer during the trophy ceremony which included ballboys held up 1,000 in big, white numbers near the net. Laver presented Federer with a framed montage of images with the words “Congratulations Roger, 1,000 match wins,” while Emerson handed Federer the trophy named after him.

Next stop for Federer is the Australian Open which begins January 19. The Swiss says he is aiming for more major titles. “Clearly I do believe I have a shot in Melbourne, otherwise I would go home.”

Julien Benneteau and Ken Rosewall at Sydney International draw ceremony

By Dave Gertler

(January 10, 2015) SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Stars of the tennis world have been descending upon Sydney over the last days, while qualifying heats have been contested at the Apia International in Sydney. Last year’s women’s champion Tsvetana Pironkova, who qualified and won eight matches in a row at the 2014 Apia International, has had to navigate through qualifying again – albeit as top seed this year – and will make it into the main draw if she defeats American Nicole Gibbs on Sunday. Despite lifting her ranking from outside the top 100 a year ago to where it is now at No.37, that Pironkova still needed to qualify is testament to the depth of the women’s draw at this year’s event.

The tournament’s top seed Simona Halep will arrive in Sydney on Sunday, from Shenzhen, China where she won the tournament.

Petra Kvitova lost in the semi-finals of Shenzhen.

Caroline Wozniacki arrived at Sydney Airport last night from Auckland, losing her Auckland final to Venus Williams.

Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska will complete the Apia International’s top four seeds when she arrives in Sydney from Perth, where she and Jerzy Janowicz – who will also feature strongly on the men’s side of the Sydney tournament – have won the Hopman Cup in an eventful final against USA’s John Isner and Serena Williams.

Janowicz will continue to be a headline act of Australia’s Summer of Tennis, as he plays young Australian giant-killer Nick Kyrgios in their first round match, which was allotted yesterday during a draw ceremony whose guests of honour included Ken Rosewall and Lesley Bowrey. 2005 Sydney finalist Sam Stosur, as well as 2012 Sydney finalist Julien Benneteau, were also in attendance for their respective WTA and ATP draw ceremonies.

While the men’s draw is less stacked than a women’s draw which boasts six top-10 players, Benneteau called the men’s draw, “Very compact,” saying, “Maybe there is not top 10 players, but from the top seeds to the end of the draw, there are tough players between 20, 30, 40, very good players, so I really think that anyone can win on Saturday.”

The men’s top two seeds, Fabio Fognini and David Goffin, will fly surprisingly under the radar at this tournament given that last year’s champion Juan Martin Del Potro, has chosen this event to stage his comeback from injury that has left him sidelined for almost a year. Del Potro flew in on Thursday night and has been using the days since to practice on Ken Rosewall Arena, with some light strapping on his wrist.

Ken Rosewall predicted a big year for the new Australian men’s No. 1, saying, “Because of his rapid improvement and his performance at Wimbledon and other senior events, there’ll be a lot of players who’ll be wanting to be in top form when they play against him. Hopefully Nick can remain physically clear without any problems, and he’ll be in good form. But I think there’ll be extra pressure on him this time to kind of stand up to being the number one player in Australia.”

At the women’s draw ceremony, Lesley Bowrey, winner of the French Open in 1964 and 1965, had some timely and compassionate words of wisdom for Sam Stosur, who is known for her struggles to win matches on home soil. “I just want to wish Sam all the best,” said Bowrey, “And just go out there and be free and easy, really, and not worry, as you say about everyone else, and what they’re telling you, just play your own game and do what you want to do.” Stosur has been drawn to face Lucie Safarova, the Czech world No.15 to whom she has lost their last six matches.

“Look, sometimes when I used to lead in matches, and I used to lose them too,” continued Bowrey, perhaps referring to Stosur’s loss last week in Brisbane to Varvara Lepchenko, after having a match point at 5-1 in the deciding set, “We all do that, it’s nothing new, you just have to find a way. What I used to do is just say, well, if I’m leading 5-1 or 5-2 or 5-3, I’d just tell myself I’m down that, and just take the pressure right off myself. That’s how I used to handle it, just tell myself I’m not leading, I’m down. Tennis is a tough game, it’s a tough sport.”

Dave Gertler is a tennis journalist, player and musician based in Sydney and is covering the Australian summer of tennis for Tennis Panorama News. Follow his personal Twitter @davegertler, read his blog, and listen to his podcast, Tennis Days .

(January 10, 2015) David Ferrer claimed his 22nd career ATP title after defeating Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 in the Qatar Open final on Saturday.

Berdych hadn’t lost his serve in 34 service games through the semifinals of Doha, but had his serve broken four times during the match.

“I’m very happy,” said Ferrer during the trophy ceremony on court following the match. “I put in hard work this preseason. It’s special winning this tournament. I was ready to play tonight’s match against Berdych … a Top 10 player.”

“First of all, it’s a disappointment to lose the final,” said Berdych. “But on the other hand, it’s been a very solid week. It’s been a couple of good matches. I was not able to execute the right way (today), but I think it’s a good start for me.”

“First of all, David is never tired,” Berdych said. “Not after the match he played yesterday after two-and-a-half hours. I have seen him playing five hours and then he played the next day.”

“In important points I got a little bit lucky,” Ferrer said. “I tried to be confident in the bad moments. I played very good in those moments.”

The 32-year-old Ferrer became the second Spaniard to win the Doha title, the first being Rafael Nadal last year.

(January 10, 2015) Stan Wawrinka will defend his Chennai Open title against Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, the first qualifier to reach the final in the tournament’s 20-year history.

Wawrinka knocked out David Goffin of Belgium 7-5, 6-3, while Bedene beat the third seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8) saving four match points in the semifinals on Saturday.

This will be Wawrinka’s four final, looking for his third title on Sunday.

“I lost against him here some years ago and he played amazingly then,” Wawrinka said of his loss to the Slovenian in the 2013 quarterfinals “It’s going to be a really good match, an interesting one for sure.”

For Bedene he is the first Slovenian to make an ATP final since October 2012.